Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of alfalfa breeding. In particular, the invention relates to the novel alfalfa variety R410A109.
Description of Related Art
There are numerous steps in the development of any novel plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that exhibit the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety an improved combination of traits from the parental germplasm. These selection traits may include higher forage yield; increased seed yield; improved feed quality, including improved digestability and improved milk conversion by ruminant animals; resistance to diseases and insects; augmented stems and roots; increased abiotic stress tolerance; increased drought and heat tolerance; strong stand establishment; improved agronomic quality and standability traits; resistance to herbicides; winter hardiness; and improvements in compositional traits to meet current and future agronomic practices.
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), also known as lucerne, is a valuable forage legume. Thus, a goal of plant breeders is to develop stable, high-yielding alfalfa varieties that are agronomically sound. The reasons for this goal include, but are not limited to, maximizing the amount of commodity plant product, e.g., hay, pasture, and silage, produced on the land used; supplying food for humans and animals; and replenishing nutrients depleted from the soil. To accomplish this goal, the breeder must select and develop alfalfa plants that have the traits that result in agronomically superior varieties.
Alfalfa is grown worldwide as forage for livestock, especially cattle. Alfalfa is among the highest-yielding forage crop species, but it is the combination of high yield and nutritional quality that make alfalfa such a valuable crop. Alfalfa is most often harvested as hay, but is also grazed, made into silage, and fed as greenchop. Alfalfa is primarily used to feed high-producing dairy cows, but is also a food source for beef cattle, horses, sheep, goats, rabbits, and poultry. Humans consume alfalfa sprouts and incorporate dehydrated alfalfa into dietary supplements.
Alfalfa, like other legumes, have root nodules that contain Sinorhizobium meliloti, bacteria that are effective at fixing nitrogen. Alfalfa therefore is also utilized to replenish nitrogen following crops without the ability to fix nitrogen in crop rotation.
The commercial production of seeds for growing alfalfa varieties normally involves three stages, the production of breeder, foundation, and then certified seed. Breeder seed is the initial seed produced by an intercross of selected parental plants, and thus represents the initial generation of an experimental cultivar. A portion of the breeder seed is then used for small plot forage trials and characterization of the alfalfa variety. Another portion of the breeder seed can be grown in isolation from other alfalfa plants to produce the foundation seed. Foundation seed is then grown in isolation from other alfalfa plants to produce the certified seed. The certified seed is typically what is sold for commercial crop production. Allele frequencies across breeder, foundation, and certified seed are maintained.